My Hobby

I have a hobby, but I don't always think of it as a hobby and I've decided I need to put more emphasis into it. I say this and then life will inevitably rear it's nutty head and the hobby will be placed on the back burner again. What's my hobby? Why, photography, of course. I take pictures of everything! Right now, I'm more digital than I'd like to be. It's great for our current modes of communication, but the quality isn't what I prefer.

I spent a decent amount of money on a gently used Nikon camera a few years ago, that has been rendered pretty useless. The flash foot is defective, so I can't attach a good, high-powered flash (thus, get the kind of pictures I'd like to develop and display). I get into a mode where I desperately search for a new camera and look out for good deals, then I loose my momentum. I've got to stay motivated because I see my skills improving with every, organized shot I make (organized as opposed to the candid shots I take of my kidlets on most days). This fall has been more spectacular than it's been in a long time. I see things that I think, "Oh, that would make such a pretty picture." I try to take the shot as I see it with my Olympia digital camera, and the results are no where near what my eye has beheld. It's very frustrating.

I'd been wondering what to tell my hubby when he asks me (as he does every year) what I want for Christmas. I was going to give him my standard "video list" and just be satisfied with whatever he found, but now I'm thinking it's time to ask for the camera. I'll be checking out sites and figuring out what an amateur like me would be happy with for a little while. The motivation to search is the hard part because I think about how many other things I need to be doing for other people. Hubby and I have this in common; it's hard to focus on ourselves for too long.

Speaking of Christmas, I'm starting to feel it...you know, that wonderful, warm holiday feeling that starts to spread. Sort of like what happens when you drink a spirit; it warms you from your head to your toes. Last year, it was mid December before my brain finally caught up to the fact that the holidays were upon me. I think I might have the girls do some sort of holiday craft this weekend. Lord knows they need something else to do besides ask me a million questions about random stuff. I'd rather they ask me about something fun. What should we make, I wonder? Something without too many small pieces, so that my little one doesn't inadvertently stick one in her mouth (or gets caught in my vacuum). Something that isn't incredibly messy, but still allows them to get their creative juices flowing. Any ideas?